International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival 2008

Sex, drugs, and beautiful people on board a luxurious yacht in the Mediterranean—not your typical setting for a horror film. But Donkey Punch isn't your typical horror film. Three gorgeous ladies on holiday in a Mediterranean beach town are determined to let their hair down and leave their troubles behind. The festivities begin at a nightclub, where libations flow and libidos grow. As luck would have it, they encounter three charming lads who are more than eager to provide them with what they are looking for. Collectively they make their way to the yacht where the men crew. Caught up in the hedonistic wave created by the sexual tension, and spurred by the fact that the yacht's owner is away, they throw caution to the wind and head out to sea. This is where the terror begins. What's remarkable about Olly Blackburn's debut feature is the way he builds suspense over the film's first half. He takes his time in developing the characters, plot, and place, and it pays off. He is aided by an impressive cast of fresh faces who are at ease with each other and their situation, as well as by the lush Mediterranean scenery, which is perfectly captured and appears both serene and menacing. Blackburn's gut-wrenching, nerve-shredding Donkey Punch stimulates the senses and shatters conventions